This week’s Find of the Week comes from Trench M – the second bone sickle fragment from the site. It is the end of a sickle, with a narrow ‘U’ shaped groove along one edge. This was where the chipped stone would have been fixed with a mastic (adhesive) of […]
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Time Turns Slowly: Our life on the Konya Plain
Time Turns Slowly: Our life on the Konya Plain
Time slows down on the Konya Plain. We do not measure the passing of time by days but rather by the slow blooming and browning of the fields of sunflowers. When we first began our season here at Boncuklu Höyük we were surrounded by an ocean of green and yellow, […]
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21 AUGUST 2013: Amazing feats in Trench M – The Basket Extraction
21 AUGUST 2013: Amazing feats in Trench M – The Basket Extraction
What began as the excavation of a simple burial in Trench H has ended with an exceptional display of determination and fine motor skills. In a small cut, supervisor Nat Franklin and her team, Hannah, Sam and Aroa, expected to find the burial of a small child. Instead, an older individual with […]
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20 AUGUST 2013: INTERESTING DEPOSIT OF THE WEEK – TRENCH N SCAPULA
20 AUGUST 2013: INTERESTING DEPOSIT OF THE WEEK – TRENCH N SCAPULA
Building 6 in Trench N has revealed the intriguing features this week. The first is an auroch’s horn core set into the wall of the building next to the entrance. The second consisted of two large animal scapulae uncovered in a small pit set into the building floor – one […]
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18 AUGUST 2013: Introducing our specialists: Ingrid Iversen, Heavy Residue Analyst
18 AUGUST 2013: Introducing our specialists: Ingrid Iversen, Heavy Residue Analyst
Boncuklu’s research strategy involves comprehensive recovery of finds from the site in an effort to extract every last ounce of information about the ancient community’s way of life. Stratified contexts are either 100% processed using the flotation tank, or 50% floated and 50% wet sieved. The product of these processes, […]
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15 AUGUST 2013: FINDS OF THE WEEK
15 AUGUST 2013: FINDS OF THE WEEK
This week has yet again been a busy and productive one on our four trenches, and we have two unique finds to showcase. The first emerged from Trench M – a large, decorated, shell bead. Identified as a Dentalium shell imported from the Mediterranean, the find is remarkable, not only […]
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7 AUGUST 2013: A VOLUNTEER’S VIEWS
7 AUGUST 2013: A VOLUNTEER’S VIEWS
After entering the main gate of Boncuklu Höyük, one of the first work areas you see is Trench H, which is located on the northern slope of the site. Immediatley, your eyes are drawn to the large depressions cut into the marl (natural subsoil). These depressions are what are left […]
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6 AUGUST 2013: A few words from Lab Minion Christine Schepens
6 AUGUST 2013: A few words from Lab Minion Christine Schepens
Turkey has a strict set of rules for the management of all archaeological finds – and rightly so. From the tiniest teaspoon of phytolith archive sample to the most elaborate decorated groundstone, each item is carefully catalogued, stored and then diligently kept under lock and key. As such, life in […]
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5 AUGUST 2013: DAY OF THE BEADS
5 AUGUST 2013: DAY OF THE BEADS
It is not uncommon for excavators, flotation volunteers and those sorting the Heavy Residue to find beads frequently. Yesterday was still exceptional with the discovery of beads in each trench, one after the other. Beads were found in Trenches M and N early in the morning and in Trench H […]
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1 AUGUST 2013: WEEKLY TRENCH UPDATE
1 AUGUST 2013: WEEKLY TRENCH UPDATE
In Trench H we are still slowly removing plaster floors and have exposed the edges of a burial. This pit feature in Trench H is the last burial in the sequence of Building 12. Earlier in the week red paint was revealed on two different floors in the same general […]